Xi holds extended talks with Trump

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, met for an extended meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday morning.

The meeting came after a smaller gathering involving the two leaders and some key advisors.

High-ranking officials from each side joined the 50-minute meeting.

In his opening remarks, Xi said that the Sino-US relations are related not only to the happiness of the people of both countries, but also to the peace, stability and prosperity of the whole world.

"For China and the United States, cooperation is the only right choice," Xi told Trump.

The bilateral ties have made great progress this year, and the two countries have enhanced high-level exchanges in various areas, Xi said.

The two nations have improved communication and coordination on major global and regional affairs, including the Korean Peninsula and Afghan issues, Xi said.

Noting that the relationship is at a new historical junction, Xi said that China is willing to focus on cooperation and control disagreement with the US, thus to benefit the people of both sides as well as the whole world.

Trump expressed gratitude for the warm reception from the Chinese president, saying that his meeting with Xi last night was "absolutely terrific".

"There can be no more important subject than China-US relation," Trump said.

"Our meeting this morning in front of your representative and our representatives was excellent," he added.

Trump said he believed that "there is a solution" to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The two sides also discussed bilateral trade, Trump said, adding that the US "really has to change its policies because they've gotten so far behind on trade with China, and frankly, with many other countries".

"My feeling toward to you is an incredibly warm one, as we said, there is great chemistry," Trump said.